Monthly Archives: September 2015

Tantrists and Taoists believe that our physical bodies are intelligent and conscious right down to the cellular level. Consequently, the body is seen to be much more than a set of mechanistic organs and interconnecting physiological systems, which is the standard attitude adopted by Western allopathic medicine. The tantric viewpoint is that: “…the human body is, in the final analysis, not merely unconscious matter but a stepped-down version of superconscious Energy. […] if the body is not merely the sarcophagus of an immaterial soul but a vibrant, living reality suffused with the same Consciousness that also animates the mind, then we must cease to regard the body as an external object radically distinct from our conscious selves.[1]Continue reading →

Joy was learning that being fully in the moment was like listening very intently. The ideas that arose in that way were altruistic and full of meaning. They were ideas that it was worth acting on; indeed, that it was important to act on.

She felt the urge to become proficient in the art of acceptance, to learn to live life from the inside out. She could change her attitude to life by changing her mind and her feelings. Engaging with calmness and steadfastness notwithstanding the outer circumstances could become her creed. This she could do simply by focusing her consciousness beyond her emotions and mental chatter, knowing that the outer was secondary and that only the inner held any authentic meaning.

Mental chit-chat served no purpose aside from keeping her – and the rest of the human race – in a constant state of tension and malaise. She was tired of being ruled by her rational mind; being bombarded by its thoughts and having her mental space invaded by whatever memories, judgements or self-defeating patterns it decided to put there. Continue reading →

From a tantric perspective, our present-day patriarchal society is flawed because the male-female balance has been lost. Leonardo Boff, although not a Tantrist, points to the unhealthy knock-on effect on society of the repression of the feminine principle: “The predominance of the masculine principle, which is historically expressed through the domination of men over women, and over everything else around it, has impoverished the human condition. […] the predominance of the masculine principle has exacerbated power, reason and violent means and it has weakened the feminine principle, sensitivity, emotional intelligence, being caring and caring for, the symbolic perception of reality and spirituality.”[1]

In his book “Interpretations of Peace in History and Culture”, Wolfgang Dietrich charts a comprehensive history of the evolution of societal worldviews. He places Tantra in the category of pre-moral, energetic interpretations of peace i.e. having come into existence and been prevalent before the introduction of the monotheistic religions, and points to “the increasing institutionalization of society and religion” as the main reason for the loss of the understanding of opposites – particularly male and female – as harmonious sides of one whole.[2] “The adoption of the principle of matter, order, or form into the male sphere […] relegates the energy interpreted as female from a primal and inseparable complementary towards a secondary position.”[3]Continue reading →

The intuitive plane that lay beyond her rational mind wasn’t synonymous with instinct or superstition. Intuition was a more evolved state of mental consciousness through which it was possible to know the essence of Love. Intuitive consciousness was a step on the Path, beyond which lay alignment with Life itself. Life – the Will that gave form to the solar system and all that comprised it – could never be understood by the intellect alone. Words would always limit and distort. The separative nature of the lower mind would always grasp with greed or imprison through fear. True knowledge was only possible through integration. Integration was the key that could open the door out of the world of illusion and glamour – which trapped the human race in a nonsensical, never-ending cycle of suffering – and into a new sphere of potential.

Joy knew she had the strength to create the conditions that would anchor her consciousness permanently on that higher, more authentic, intuitive plane. Her brain could be the vessel for intuitive thoughts. It was her destiny and the destiny of all humans to reach these more expanded levels of awareness. To succeed required a change in thinking, leading to a change in being, resulting in a change in living. She had no choice. Life without that higher consciousness would make less and less sense to her. The way forwards was clear – she had to go out of her mind.

There are many similarities between the various conceptualisations of the non-visible realms as put forward by thinkers past and present. For example, from my understanding, André van Lysebeth uses the term “overmind” to refer to the transpersonal plane. “In Tantra, the concept of the overmind is an essential one […] the overmind refers to an autonomous mental level that includes and is greater than several individual sub-minds.”[1] This tantric concept of the overmind seems to equate also to the collective unconscious as it “is the repository of all mankind’s memories […] the totality of mankind’s experience and knowledge, the senses, thoughts and abilities of every man and woman who lives today, or has ever lived.”[2] Furthermore, these definitions of the overmind are very similar to the idea of the Akashic Records, a concept described by Rudolf Steiner (anthroposophy), the theosophist movement and Edgar Cayce, amongst others: “More than just a reservoir of events, the Akashic Records contain every deed, word, feeling, thought, and intent that has ever occurred at any time in the history of the world. […] these Akashic Records are interactive in that they have a tremendous influence upon our everyday lives, our relationships, our feelings and belief systems, and the potential realities we draw toward us.[3]Continue reading →

Nature offered human beings a space where they could more easily align with what might best be referred to as the one Life. By this Joy meant the Life that animates all the kingdoms – mineral, plant, animal and human – making out of their component parts one whole. This Life energy remained a mystery to the human mind. It originated from the non-visible world and surrounded and imbued the four kingdoms. As such, nature offered human beings the opportunity to more easily reach beyond the limits and divisive tendencies of their conscious minds, and thereby gain an intuitive understanding that humanity is a part – although only one part – of a greater existence.

The destruction of the environment by human activity was to Joy an indication of just how far off the spiritual track human beings, controlled by their lower minds, had wandered. Nature was a gateway to an authentic awareness of humanity’s place in the greater scheme. The rational mind, fearing its own annihilation, was driving men and woman to destroy that gateway – the door to their liberation.